A proposal to install CCTV cameras in all the buses of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has been stalled due to paucity of funds, following which the state has sought a central assistance of Rs 30 crores.
The scheme had been mooted to prevent crimes in the buses, particularly against the women. There were around 9,600 buses of UPSRTC plying in the state and inter-state section.
In a letter to the Union Transport Ministry, the state government has said incidents of crimes related to women needed to be contained in public transport. It proposed to install CCTVs along with digital video recording systems (DVRs) in its fleet of 9,600 buses running on state roads.
Officials say in case of an emergency such as molestation, the buses would be equipped with systems in which at the touch of a button, an alarm would be set-off in the transport headquarters and immediate action taken.
UPSRTC also proposes to link this camera to the women’s helpline 1090, already functional in the state. UPSRTC officials have also confirmed the proposal to the central government and said all buses of the state have already been connected to a GPS tracking system.
The state government is now awaiting sanction of the funds by the Union Transport Ministry after which the CCTVs would be installed, sources said.